The Lawrence Arms

Chicago’s Lawrence Arms are a gritty but clever punk rock three-piece that trace their beginnings back to 1999. Their involvement in bands and the punk scene goes back many years prior however, as the members were involved in Windy City mainstays Slapstick, The Broadways, and Baxter. The band takes it’s name from a run-down building the members resided in called the Lawrence Arms, which was located in a very lower-class area of uptown Chicago. For the record, they were eventually evicted from the place in the middle of the night.

After a couple releases on Asian Man Records, The Lawrence Arms chose to work with Fat Wreck Chords from among several interested labels and released Apathy and Exhaustion in early 2002. Their Fat Wreck debut was recorded after 13 months of constant touring and is an aptly-titled product of a band that endured every mishap and triumph of an arduous tour. For over a year The Lawrence Arms lived on the road, and every bit of defiance, debauchery, and desperation, comes through on Apathy and Exhaustion. Their next sonic conquest came in the form of their second Fat full length, The Greatest Story Ever Told, an exalted title no doubt, but one that they managed to live up to. In typical Larry Arms fashion, the band waxes intellectual whilst making repeated tributes to American pop culture. No one is safe, and everyone from Kafka to the cast of Perfect Strangers play a part in The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Of course, the Arms really came into their own with the release of critic-and-fan favorite, 2006’s Oh! Calcutta! and the follow up ep, Buttsweat and Tears, released at their now legendary ten year anniversary show at the Metro in sweet home Chicago on October 24, 2009. However, for reasons we dare not speculate on, since that watershed moment, The Lawrence Arms have been relatively inactive, even as their fanbase has continued to grow.

Well, recently rumors began circulating that the guys in the Arms have been writing new material and are ready to come out of their unofficial hiatus long enough to melt our faces off with their highly anticipated follow up record, but until then, we’ve joined forces with Crankstrap productions to bring you An Evening Of Extraordinary Circumstance, the HD-shot, full coverage, soundboard quality DVD documenting that now-famous ten year anniversary show from 2009. Three years in the making, fans have been asking, begging, pleading and then finally getting super pissed and wondering if indeed this fabled ’10 year DVD’ would ever see the light of day. Well, on June 5, 2012, the wait will finally be over.

Witness the Arms at their tightest (and least plastered) as they blast through over thirty of their best tunes from every point in their career. It’s been said that the guys are thinking about doing a little touring this summer in support of the An Evening Of Extraordinary CircumstanceDVD, and (wait for it) maybe even some kind of new release that’s as of now not really been overtly discussed. But until that comes to be, sit back and watch this nearly two hours of one of the best nights in the history of The Lawrence Arms, three best friends doing what they do best in front of a completely insane hometown crowd.